Method and system to pre-fetch data in a network

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for prefetching items of content associated with commercial websites, comprising receiving a request from a user device for data for a first interface, and in response, identifying items of content that are to be included in one or more second interfaces that are accessible by user-selectable links in the first interface. Data for the first interface and the items of content are then transmitted to the user device. After the transmission, a second request is received from the user device for a particular second interface, based on a selection of a particular user-selectable link in the first interface. In response, data corresponding to the particular second interface that does not include the items of content included in the particular second interface is transmitted to the user device to enable output of the second interface with its respective items of content.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/231,490, filed on Mar. 31, 2014; which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/011,968, filed on Aug. 28, 2013, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,219,792, issued on Dec. 22, 2015; which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/430,029, filed on Mar. 26, 2012, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,547,383, issued on Oct. 1, 2013; which is a continuationof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/019,847, filed on Feb. 2, 2011,now U.S. Pat. No. 8,169,443, issued on May 1, 2012; which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/635,626, filed onDec. 10, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,884,827, issued on Feb. 8, 2011;which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/359,859,filed on Feb. 22, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,659,905, issued on Feb. 9,2010; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

BACKGROUND

There are many situations in which a network user (e.g., a personaccessing the Internet) may desire to communicate (e.g. download orotherwise receive) a relatively large amount of data via the networkfrom another client computer or a server computer.

For example, consider that electronic commerce utilizes the Internet tosell goods and services to customers, and has been increasing in itsscope and scale at increasing rates.

A seller will typically list an item for sale or auction by inputtinginformation regarding the item for sale into a plurality of informationfields using a remote user input device, for example a user computer.The computer is connected to a communications network such as theInternet and when the user has completed inputting the information, datais transmitted to a central server to create the listing.

A potential buyer accesses the central server using a remote user inputdevice, for example a user computer typically via the Internet, andviews the listing and perhaps makes an offer to purchase the listing.

In order to do this both the seller and the buyer typically navigatethrough a series of web pages over the Internet.

However, where the amount of data to be transmitted to the user computeris large, it will be appreciated that the user will wait for some timewhile the data is transmitted over the network and they receive the dataand are able to view it, typically using a web browser. This isparticularly exaggerated for dial-up and low broadband users.

Of course, the above is just one example environment in which a user maydesire to receive data via a network (e.g. the Internet). Photo hostingsites on the Internet have been increasing in popularity, and requireusers to download multiple digital photographs from a server to viewthese digital photographs and to order physical prints of the digitalphotographs. Other examples of relatively large digital files that auser may wish to download over a network include audio and video files.For example, a user may wish to download an MPEG video from a web sitefor archiving and availability to other users. Similarly, certain websites may act as distribution channels for up-and-coming musicalartists, and may accordingly allow for the downloading of MP3 files froma web site (e.g.,www.MP3.com).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a detailed network diagram depicting a system having aclient-server architecture, in accordance with one example embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple commerce system andpayment applications, in one example embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram, in accordance withan example embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an example method of pre-fetching data in a network.

FIG. 5 is an example method of pre-fetching data in a network.

FIG. 6 shows an example system to implement the above method.

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the exampleform of a computer system within which instructions, for causing themachine to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein, may be executed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems to transmit data within a distributed computersystem are described. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be evident,however, to one skilled in the art that the example embodiments may bepracticed without these specific details.

In one example embodiment, a method and system pre-fetch browsercacheable objects in anticipation of user navigation using availablefree cycles (e.g., user think time). In an example Web-based system, apre-fetch system and method may be utilised to optimize a “buying” flowpresented by Internet-based commerce web site (e.g.,Homepage→Search→View Item→Sign-in-to-bid). An operator of theInternet-based commerce web site may, for example, observe that buyerwill typically navigate the pages in the fashion outlined above most ofthe time. Accordingly, an example method and system may be used topre-fetch objects present on the Search page when the user visits theHomepage, View Item objects may be pre-fetched on the Search page,Sign-in objects may be pre-fetch on the View Item page and so on. Withthe pre-fetch of such browser cacheable objects, when the user navigatesto the next page in the flow, since cacheable objects have beenpre-fetched and is available from the browser cache, the page loadsquickly resulting in fast page response times. Also, since the pre-fetchhappens asynchronously and after page load there is no performanceimpact on the currently loading page.

One example embodiment is described in the context of a commerce system;however it will be appreciated that the invention could be implementedin other contexts. Indeed, other example embodiments may be implementedin a wide variety of networking environments in which a data file (orother data structure, such as a JavaScript object from example) requirescommunication or transmission over a network.

The below described embodiments are directed to methods and systems totransmit data within a network.

In one aspect, a system includes a display module to display first datato a user, the first data being upstream of other data in a data flow; amemory device; and a communication module to receive at least some ofthe other data before receiving a request from the user to view theother data and to store the received other data in the memory device,wherein after a request is received from the user to display the otherdata, the display device uses this stored data for the user display.

In another aspect, a system includes a receiving module to receive arequest from a user to display first data to the user, the first databeing upstream of other data in a data flow; and a transmitting moduleto transmit the first data to a user device to be viewed by the user andto further transmit, before a request is received from the user to viewthe other data, at least some of the other data to the user device to bestored in a memory device.

In another aspect, a method of pre-fetching data in a network includesreceiving a request from a user to display first data to the user, thefirst data being upstream of other data in a data flow; transmitting thefirst data to a user device to be viewed by the user; and transmittingat least some of the other data to the user device to be stored in amemory device before a request is received from the user to view theother data.

In another aspect, a method of pre-fetching data in a network includesdisplaying first data to a user, the first data being upstream of otherdata in a data flow; before receiving a request from the user to viewthe other data, retrieving at least some of the other data; storing theretrieved data in a memory device; and after receiving a request fromthe user to display the other data, using the stored other data for thedisplay to the user.

Platform Architecture

FIG. 1 is a network diagram depicting a system 10, according to oneexample embodiment, having a client-server architecture. A serverplatform, in the example form of commerce system 12, providesserver-side functionality, via a network 14 (e.g., the Internet) to oneor more clients. FIG. 2 illustrates, for example, a web client 16 (e.g.,a browser, such as the Internet Explorer browser developed by MicrosoftCorporation of Redmond, Washington State), and a programmatic client 18executing on respective client machines 20 and 22.

Turning specifically to the network-based commerce system 12, anApplication Program Interface (API) server 24 and a web server 26 arecoupled to, and provide programmatic and web interfaces respectively to,one or more application servers 28. The application servers 28 host oneor more applications (e.g., commerce system applications 30 and paymentapplications 32.) The application servers 28 are, in turn, shown to becoupled to one or more databases servers 34 that facilitate access toone or more databases 36.

The commerce system applications 30 provide a number of commerce systemfunctions and services to users that access the commerce system 12. Thepayment applications 32 likewise provide a number of payment servicesand functions to users. The payment applications 32 may allow users toqualify for, and accumulate, value (e.g., in a commercial currency, suchas the U.S. dollar, or a proprietary currency, such as “points”) inaccounts, and then later to redeem the accumulated value for products(e.g., goods or services) that are made available via the commercesystem applications 30. While the commerce system and paymentapplications 30 and 32 are shown in FIG. 1 to both form part of thenetwork-based commerce system 12, it will be appreciated that, inalternative embodiments of the present invention, the paymentapplications 32 may form part of a payment service that is separate anddistinct from the commerce system 12.

Further, while the system 10 shown in FIG. 1 employs a client-serverarchitecture, embodiments of the present invention are of course notlimited to such an architecture, and could equally well find applicationin a distributed, or peer-to-peer, architecture system. The variouscommerce system and payment applications 30 and 32 could also beimplemented as standalone software programs, which do not necessarilyhave networking capabilities.

The web client 16, it will be appreciated, accesses the various commercesystem and payment applications 30 and 32 via the web interfacesupported by the web server 26. Similarly, the programmatic client 18accesses the various services and functions provided by the commercesystem and payment applications 30 and 32 via the programmatic interfaceprovided by the API server 24. The programmatic client 18 may, forexample, be a seller application (e.g., the TurboLister applicationdeveloped by eBay Inc., of San Jose, California) to enable sellers toauthor and manage listings on the commerce system 12 in an off-linemanner, and to perform batch-mode communications between theprogrammatic client 18 and the network-based commerce system 12. Exampleembodiments may be deployed either within an interface presented by theweb client 16, or the programmatic client 18.

FIG. 1 also illustrates a third party application 38, executing on athird party server machine 40, as having programmatic access to thenetwork-based commerce system 12 via the programmatic interface providedby the API server 24. For example, the third party application 38 may,utilizing information retrieved from the network-based commerce system12, support one or more features or functions on a web site hosted bythe third party. The third party website may, for example, provide oneor more promotional, commerce system or payment functions that aresupported by the relevant applications of the network-based commercesystem 12.

Commerce System Applications

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating multiple commerce system andpayment applications 30 that, in one example embodiment, are provided aspart of the network-based commerce system 12. The commerce system 12 mayprovide a number of listing and price-setting mechanisms whereby aseller may list goods or services for sale, a buyer can express interestin or indicate a desire to purchase such goods or services, and a pricecan be set for a transaction pertaining to the goods or services. Tothis end, the commerce system applications 30 are shown to include oneor more auction applications 44 which support auction-format listing andprice setting mechanisms (e.g., English, Dutch, Vickrey, Chinese,Double, Reverse auctions etc.). The various auction applications 44 mayalso provide a number of features in support of such auction-formatlistings, such as a reserve price feature whereby a seller may specify areserve price in connection with a listing and a proxy-bidding featurewhereby a bidder may invoke automated proxy bidding.

A number of fixed-price applications 46 support fixed-price listingformats (e.g., the traditional classified advertisement-type listing ora catalogue listing) and buyout-type listings. Specifically, buyout-typelistings (e.g., including the Buy-It-Now (BIN) technology developed byeBay Inc., of San Jose, Calif.) may be offered in conjunction with anauction-format listing, and allow a buyer to purchase goods or services,which are also being offered for sale via an auction, for a fixed-pricethat is typically higher than the starting price of the auction.

Store applications 48 allow sellers to group their listings within a“virtual” store, which may be branded and otherwise personalized by andfor the sellers. Such a virtual store may also offer promotions,incentives and features that are specific and personalized to a relevantseller.

Reputation applications 50 allow parties that transact utilizing thenetwork-based commerce system 12 to establish, build, and maintainreputations, which may be made available and published to potentialtrading partners. Consider that where, for example, the network-basedcommerce system 12 supports person-to-person trading, users may have nohistory or other reference information whereby the trustworthiness andcredibility of potential trading partners may be assessed. Thereputation applications 50 allow a user, for example through feedbackprovided by other transaction partners, to establish a reputation withinthe network-based commerce system 12 over time. Other potential tradingpartners may then reference such a reputation for the purposes ofassessing credibility and trustworthiness.

Personalization applications 52 allow users of the commerce system 12 topersonalize various aspects of their interactions with the commercesystem 12. For example a user may, utilizing an appropriatepersonalization application 52, create a personalized reference page atwhich information regarding transactions to which the user is (or hasbeen) a party may be viewed. Further, a personalization application 52may enable a user to personalize listings and other aspects of theirinteractions with the commerce system 12 and other parties.

In one embodiment, the network-based commerce system 12 may include aone or more internationalization applications 54 that support a numberof marketplaces. Each marketplace may be customized, for example, forspecific geographic regions. A version of the commerce system 12 may becustomized for the United Kingdom, whereas another version of thecommerce system 12 may be customized for the United States. Each ofthese versions may operate as an independent commerce system, or may becustomized (or internationalized) presentations of a common underlyingcommerce system.

Navigation of the network based-commerce system 12 may be facilitated byone or more navigation applications 56. For example, a searchapplication enables key word searches of listings published via thecommerce system 12. A browse application allows users to browse variouscategory, catalogue, or inventory data structures according to whichlitmus may be classified within the commerce system 12. Various othernavigation applications may be provided to supplement the search andbrowsing applications.

In order to make listings, available via the network-based commercesystem 12, as visually informing and attractive as possible, thecommerce system applications 30 may include one or more imagingapplications 58 utilizing which users may upload images for inclusionwithin listings. An imaging application 58 also operates to incorporateimages within viewed listings. The imaging applications 58 may alsosupport one or more promotional features, such as image galleries thatare presented to potential buyers. For example, sellers may pay anadditional fee to have an image included within a gallery of images forpromoted items.

Listing creation applications 60 allow sellers conveniently to authorlistings pertaining to goods or services that they wish to transact viathe commerce system 12, and listing management applications 62 allowsellers to manage such listings. Specifically, where a particular sellerhas authored and/or published a large number of listings, the managementof such listings may present a challenge. The listing managementapplications 62 provide a number of features (e.g., auto-relisting,inventory level monitors, etc.) to assist the seller in managing suchlistings. Example embodiments of the present invention may be deployedas part of one or more listing creation applications 60, so as to enablesellers to efficiently upload digital files (e.g., image, video or audiodata files) for inclusion within listing information published by thecommerce system 12.

One or more post-listing management applications 64 also assist sellerswith a number of activities that typically occur post-listing. Forexample, upon completion of an auction facilitated by one or moreauction applications 44, a seller may wish to leave feedback regarding aparticular buyer. To this end, a post-listing management application 64may provide an interface to one or more reputation applications 50, soas to allow the seller conveniently to provide feedback regardingmultiple buyers to the reputation applications 50.

Data Structures

FIG. 3 is a high-level entity-relationship diagram, illustrating varioustables 90 that may be maintained within the databases 36, and that areutilized by and support the commerce system and payment applications 30and 32. A user table 92 contains a record for each registered user ofthe network-based commerce system 12, and may include identifier,address and financial instrument information pertaining to each suchregistered user. A user may, it will be appreciated, operate as aseller, a buyer, or both, within the network-based commerce system 12.In one example embodiment, a buyer may be a user that has accumulatedvalue (e.g., commercial or proprietary currency), and is then able toexchange the accumulated value for items that are offered for sale bythe network-based commerce system 12.

The tables 90 also include an items table 94 in which are maintaineditem records for goods and services that are available to be, or havebeen, transacted via the commerce system 12. Each item record within theitems table 94 may furthermore be linked to one or more user recordswithin the user table 92, so as to associate a seller and one or moreactual or potential buyers with each item record.

A transaction table 96 contains a record for each transaction (e.g., apurchase transaction) pertaining to items for which records exist withinthe items table 94.

An order table 98 is populated with order records, each order recordbeing associated with an order. Each order, in turn, may be with respectto one or more transactions for which records exist within thetransactions table 96.

Bid records within a bids table 100 each relate to a bid received at thenetwork-based commerce system 12 in connection with an auction-formatlisting supported by an auction application 44. A feedback table 102 isutilized by one or more reputation applications 50, in one exampleembodiment, to construct and maintain reputation information concerningusers. A history table 104 maintains a history of transactions to whicha user has been a party. One or more attributes tables 106 recordattribute information pertaining to items for which records exist withinthe items table 94. Considering only a single example of such anattribute, the attributes tables 106 may indicate a currency attributeassociated with a particular item, the currency attribute identifyingthe currency of a price for the relevant item as specified in by aseller.

The tables 90 also include a media table 108 to store digital mediafiles associated with item information maintained within items table 94.Specifically, the digital media files may comprise image, video or audiofiles that are included within, or accessible via, a listing to providefurther information pertinent to a particular listing. It will beappreciated that, relative to text information that may be includedwithin the items table 94, the digital media files within the mediatable 108 may be relatively large and accordingly require additionaltime and resources to upload to the commerce system 12 from aprogrammatic client 18 or a web client 16.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, for a seller to list an offering for sale orauction on the network based commerce system 12, the seller willtypically access the commerce system 12 using a programmatic client 18or web client 16.

The clients 18 and 16 are accessed by the user via a graphical userinterface of a user's computer, for example, and these prompt a user toenter information into a plurality of fields displayed on the graphicaluser interface.

The user will typically navigate through various graphical userinterfaces where data is displayed to the user, and wherein eachgraphical user interface will typically include at least one link toother data or a plurality of links to other data.

For example, where the user accesses a web page via the Internet, theweb page is displayed to the user with a plurality of links to other webpages.

The seller then inputs information using a user input device which isreceived by the programmatic client 18 or the web client 16 and thentransmitted over the network 14 to the commerce system 12.

The information which the seller will want to input will typically beinformation including the user's identification (otherwise referred toas the seller's identification) and information relating to offeringidentification, typically with price information.

A sequence, series or a set of web pages that are presented to a userwhen navigating a web site may be referred to as a “flow” or a “pageflow”. The flow of web pages may be determined or specified in a numberof ways. For example, a flow of web pages may be defined by linksembedded into the relevant web pages that link the relevant pages into aflow.

In one example, the page flow captures the sequence of pages URL's thatthe user will visit during the course of their site navigation. Atypical buyer on an e-commerce site, for example, would visit thehomepage, search for an item by typing a search term or clicking on acategory which takes the user to the item listings page (also referredto as a search page). The user would then click on an item from the listand be taken to a View Item page. If interested in the item, the userwill initiate bidding which will require a sign in. The user is taken tothe sign in page and subsequently to the bidding page. In this example,the flow captures the natural sequence of operations or pages that theuser would follow to perform his operation.

However, a flow may also be determined by any combination of inputsprovided into a particular web page. For example, in a sequence, a nextweb page to be presented to a user may be determined based on input(e.g., data) provided via a current web page to an underlying Webapplication. Consider that particular choices or input provide on onepage may be utilized by a web site to identify a subsequent web page tobe communicated and displayed to a user. User provided data may becommunicated to web site (e.g., via a POST operation) when a userselects a SUBMIT button presented on a current web page. In thisscenario, it will be appreciated that the SUBMIT button does not link toa particular subsequent web page, but merely initiates a posting of thedata entered by the user into the current web page to the web site.

A page flow may for example be a directory of Web application files thatwork together to implement a user interface (UI) feature. For example, apage flow may also implement a Web application's user registrationwizard feature. One example of a page flow is a Java Page Flow (JPF),which is a group of pages (e.g., JavaServer Pages—JSPs) and an annotatedJava “controller” class that defines the flow of an application. Inaddition to allowing complex logic to dictate which pages are displayed,JPF technology helps decouple page authoring from application logic bypreventing one page from directly referencing another. JPF technologyalso allows for state management, and reuse of entire flows within otherflows. Page Flows assists in building Java web applications. Whenprogramming with Page Flows, the developer writes Java classes andpages, and there is very little occasion to work with configurationfiles, or other components. Page Flow programming also assists inseparating presentation logic from data processing logic. Dataprocessing and the web application configurables are handled in a singleJava class using a simple declarative programming model.

Many common web application programming tasks are accomplished through adeclarative programming model using, for example JSR 175 metadataannotations. JSR 175 metadata annotations, “annotations” for short, areproperty setters for Java classes and methods, alleviating the need forindependent configuration files. Navigation, exception handling,validation, and other tasks become configurable properties of a singleJava class, the “controller” class that drives the web application.

Continuing the discussion of the example JPF technology, when a userenters a Page Flow (e.g., by calling an URL in the Page Flow's URLspace), an instance of the Page Flow's controller class may be created.While the user is in the Page Flow, the controller class stores theaccumulated flow-related state in member variables of the controllerclass. The methods within the class have access to the accumulatedstate, thus facilitating state management within the web application.For example, if a web application calls for a multi-page registration,where the user moves from page to page filling out a user profile. Thecontroller class stores the user data as the user progresses through theregistration and has access to the profile data as session state. Whenthe user leaves the Page Flow, the state is automatically cleaned up.

Page flows implemented utilizing JPF technology may also be modular. Forexample, a single web application can have multiple Page Flows withinit, allowing a programmer to break up the application into separate,self-contained chunks of functionality. Page Flow web applications alsocontain a global Page Flow, called the “shared flow”, which is both afallback handler for unhandled actions and exceptions and a place tostore session state. An instance of the shared flow class is stored inthe user session upon the first request to any Page Flow and remainsuntil the session ends. When an action is raised in a Page Flow, andthat action is not handled by the Page Flow, the shared flow gets achance to handle it. The same is true for an exception raised within aPage Flow: if it is unhandled in the Page Flow, the shared flow gets achance to handle it.

Page flows implemented utilizing JPF technology may also be nestable.Page flow nesting provides a programmer with an ability to break up aproject into separate, self-contained bits of functionality. Nesting maybe regarded as a way of pushing aside the current page flow temporarilyand transferring control to another (nested) page flow with theintention of coming back to the original (nesting) one.

Returning to the general discussion regarding page flows, where theseller is presented a sequence of web pages (e.g., a page flow), it maytake some time for all the data in a subsequent web page to betransmitted over the network to the user's device.

To address this, at least some of the data from downstream web pages ina page flow is downloaded and cached in a memory device, typically amemory device of the user device, before a request is received from theuser to view the linked web page. Thus, the data is being downloadedwhile the user is browsing the web page currently displayed on theirgraphical user interface.

It will be appreciated that static objects are browser cacheable whiledynamic objects are objects whose contents needs to be composed everytime and are therefore not cacheable. For HTTP requests these will bemarked with suitable no-cache header directives.

In one embodiment, the downloaded data may comprise a cacheable objectsuch as a JavaScript object Images, CSS (style sheets) or Flash objectsto name a few examples. These are in general static objects.

In one embodiment, the downloaded data (e.g., object, program or script)is not executed or displayed to the user before the user is presentedwith the relevant downstream web page, even though the download of thedata may be complete, as this would disrupt the display that iscurrently being displayed to the user.

As a regular script included in the download would cause the browser todownload the JavaScript object and execute it, to circumvent this, theobject type is defined as some custom type e.g. text/x-ebayScript. Sincethe browser does not recognize this type, it downloads it but does notexecute it.

For example:

A typical script may be: <script type=“text/javascript” A custom scriptmay be: <script id=“jsLoader” type=“text/x-ebayScript”></script>

Furthermore, the downloaded data is only downloaded after the completionof the download of the first requested data download so as not tointerfere with or slow down the download of the first requested data.

The length of time that the downloaded data is cached for is determinedin one example by the individual object's expiry settings whichdetermines the time it will live in the browser cache. Thus the browsercache is not modified in this regard.

Once the user is presented with the relevant downstream web page (e.g.,a page flow reaches the downstream web page, or a user selects thelinked web page for viewing), the data cached in the memory device isused to display the downstream web page to the user.

It will be appreciated that a web page may have a large number ofpotential downstream web pages (e.g., may include links to a number ofother web pages, or may be associated with a number of other web pagesby a defined page flow). In this case, it may not be practical todownload and cache all of the data from all of these downstream webpages. Therefore different approaches may be used.

For example, some of the data may be downloaded and cached from each ofthese downstream web pages.

Alternatively, information may be stored to determine which of thesedownstream web pages are most frequently viewed and some or all of thedata may be downloaded and cached from only one or some of the mostfrequently viewed downstream web pages.

Thus, in one example implementation the objects being pre-fetched onevery page have been predetermined and coded into the page. In thisexample, the pre-fetch logic is static.

In another example implementation, the pre-fetch logic could also bemade dynamic in which case a mechanism to store the list of objects thatshould be pre-fetched whenever the user navigates to a page isimplemented. This could involve computing what page the user will likelyvisit next and determine the objects on this next page that can bepre-fetched. This information could be stored in the server and be sentto the browser as part of the current page. Whenever a user requests apage, they will get the requested page which will also include the codesnippet to pre-fetch objects from the logical next page. So when thebrowser downloads the page and the objects contained within, it willalso trigger the snippet that pre-fetches objects.

If only some of the data is downloaded and cached from a particulardownstream web page, and the user then requests that downstream web pageto be viewed, the rest of the data (e.g., objects, programs, scripts anddisplay data) required by the downstream web page to the user is onlydownloaded after the request and used in conjunction with the pre cacheddata to display the web page to the user.

This is accomplished by the browser which is aware of the contents ofits cache. The browser, when it requests a page and all its embeddedobjects, first checks its cache and when it finds the object there (andif its still within the expiry limit) it does not make a network call tofetch it again.

In one example embodiment, a server implements the method describedabove by, after receiving a request from a user to display a first webpage to the user, transmitting web page data to the user device to beviewed by the user. The server then transmits data included in the atleast one other downstream web page to the user device to be stored in amemory device before a request is received from the user to view the atleast one other web page.

Referring to FIG. 4, the top of the Figure shows a first methodologyused and the bottom of the Figure shows an embodiment of a method to precache data.

In the first method, a user requests a web page to be displayed via agraphical user interface. The web browser of the user requests the datafor the page (operation 412), receives the downloaded data (operation414) and displays the requested web page to the user (operation 416) onthe graphical user interface.

The process now halts while the user browses the web page (operation418) until the user requests a further web page (operation 420) and sothe process continues.

In the example embodiment, while the user is browsing the downloadedpage (operation 418), a request is transmitted to download some data fora downstream web page (operation 422). The data is then downloaded(operation 424) during the time that the user is browsing the firstdownloaded web page (operation 418). The process then continues in thisdescribed manner.

It will be appreciated that the process of downloading pre cacheabledata before the user has requested the data can be repeated a number oftimes.

An example of the method is further illustrated in FIG. 5 showing theoperations performed by a user device and the operations performed by aserver side device.

On the user side, a request to display first data (operation 510) isgenerated. The requested is received (operation 512) by the server todisplay the first data to the user, or executed or otherwise processedon a machine of the user. The first data (e.g., web page, objects,program, scripts) may be part of a flow (e.g., a page flow) thatincludes other data (e.g., the first data may contain a link to otherdata).

The first data is transmitted (operation 514) to a user device to beprocessed (e.g., to generated a user interface to be viewed by the user)and this first data is received (operation 516) and processed (e.g.,displayed (operation 518) to the user).

Before processing the other data (e.g., responsive receiving a requestfrom the user to view the other data), at least some of the other datais retrieved (operation 520) and is transmitted (operation 522) to theuser device.

This other data is stored (operation 524) in a memory device and onlyafter a request has been received (operation 526) from the user toprocess the other data, is the stored other data processed (e.g., usedfor the display to the user).

As the example embodiment is within the context of an electroniccommerce system, the web pages requested will typically detail an onlinelisting whether it is a seller inputting the listing or a buyer viewingthe listing for a possible purchase.

An example system to implement the abovementioned method is shown inFIG. 6 and includes a communication module 610 to communicate with anapplication server 28.

The system further includes a display module 612 to control the displayof data to a user via a display device (not shown).

A memory device 614 is associated with the communication module 610 andthe display module 612 and is used to store the pre cached data as hasbeen described above.

An application server 28 includes a receiving module 616 to receive arequest from a user to display the first data to the user and atransmitting module 618 to transmit data to the user device to be viewedby the user and to further transmit other data to the user device to bestored in the memory device 614 as has been described above.

FIG. 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of machine in the exampleform of a computer system 700 within which a set of instructions, forcausing the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein, may be executed. In alternative embodiments, themachine operates as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g.,networked) to other machines. In a networked deployment, the machine mayoperate in the capacity of a server or a client machine in server-clientnetwork environment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The machine may be a server computer,a client computer, a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting a set of instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specifyactions to be taken by that machine. Further, while only a singlemachine is illustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken toinclude any collection of machines that individually or jointly executea set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more ofthe methodologies discussed herein.

The example computer system 700 includes a processor 702 (e.g., acentral processing unit (CPU) a graphics processing unit (GPU) or both),a main memory 704 and a static memory 706, which communicate with eachother via a bus 708. The computer system 700 may further include a videodisplay unit 710 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a cathode raytube (CRT)). The computer system 700 also includes an alphanumeric inputdevice 712 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor control device 714 (e.g., amouse), a disk drive unit 716, a signal generation device 718 (e.g., aspeaker) and a network interface device 720.

A disk drive unit 716 includes a machine-readable medium 722 on which isstored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 724) embodyingany one or more of the methodologies or functions described herein. Thesoftware 724 may also reside, completely or at least partially, withinthe main memory 704 and/or within the processor 702 during executionthereof by the computer system 700, the main memory 704 and theprocessor 702 also constituting machine-readable media. The software 724may further be transmitted or received over a network 726 via thenetwork interface device 720.

While the machine-readable medium 722 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring or encoding a set of instructions for execution by the machineand that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present invention. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall accordingly be taken to include, but not be limited to,solid-state memories and optical and magnetic media.

Although the present embodiments has been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the various modules described herein may be preformed andcreated using hardware circuitry (e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry) aswell as in software.

For example, the modules referred to above may be embodied usingtransistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits (e.g., applicationspecific integrated ASIC circuitry). In addition, it will be appreciatedthat the various operations, processes, and methods disclosed herein maybe embodied in a machine-readable medium and/or a machine accessiblemedium compatible with a data processing system (e.g., a computersystem). Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regardedin an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.

In one example, the system is implemented using a machine readablemachine having instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause themachine to perform the method described herein.

One example embodiment uses JavaScript to do the pre caching downloads.Embodiments may also be implemented using other technologies like Javaapplets, ActiveX etc.

The following example code provides a sample implementation of adownload process.

<script type=“text/javascript”> /*

This function makes a call to retrieve the SCRIPT element from the DOMand then sets SRC of that element to the remote path of the javascriptresource, initiating the download.

*/   function pre-fetch( )   {     if(document.getElementById)     {      var linkObj = document.getElementById(“jsLoader”);      linkObj.src=“path_to_object_to_be_pre-fetched.js”     }     else    {       return;     }   } /*

This code sets the ONLOAD function handler to call the PRE-FETCH()function.

*/   window.onload = function( )   {    if(typeof(pre-fetch)!=“undefined”)       setTimeout(“pre-fetch()”,2000);   } </script> /*

SCRIPT element whose SRC is set to the path of the pre-fetched object.Type attribute is set to a bogus type to circumvent execution.

*/ <script id=“jsLoader” type=“text/x-ebayScript”></script>

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching items of content associated with commercial websites, comprising: receiving, by a server over a network, a first request from a web client operating on a user device for data for presenting a first interface, the first interface including one or more user-selectable links each corresponding to a respective second interface from among one or more second interfaces, wherein the one or more second interfaces are different from the first interface, and wherein each of the one or more second interfaces includes a respective one or more items of content, each item of content being associated with a respective offer; identifying, for each of the one or more second interfaces, respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content; transmitting, from the server over the network to the user device and in response to the first request, (i) the data for presenting the first interface, and (ii) for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content; and after transmitting (i) the data for presenting the first interface, and (ii) for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content, receiving, by the server over the network from the web client operating on the user device and based on a selection of a particular user-selectable link from among the one or more user-selectable links, a second request for data for presenting a particular second interface from among the one or more second interfaces.
 2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each item of content comprises promotional material associated with a different offer.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more items of content do not include data for presenting the first interface.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the user device is configured to store the one or more items of content in a cache memory of the user device.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the cache memory of the user device is implemented using a volatile memory device.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the user-selectable links is associated with a different web domain.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: in response to the second request for data for presenting the particular second interface, transmitting the data for presenting the particular second interface from the server over the network to the user device, wherein the data for presenting the particular second interface does not include the respective data corresponding to respective one or more items of content included in the particular second interface.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the user device is configured to render the particular second interface using the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content included in the particular second interface and the data for presenting the particular second interface.
 9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, further comprising: after rendering the particular second interface, receiving, by the server over the network and from the web client operating on the user device, data indicative of a transaction pertaining to a particular offer associated with one of the respective one or more items of content included in the particular second interface.
 10. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more second interfaces is associated with a different merchant from among one or more merchants, and each item of content included in the particular second interface is associated with a different offer of a particular merchant from among the one or more merchants.
 11. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein identifying, for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content comprises: selecting, by the server and for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content from among data stored in an information repository accessible by the server.
 12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the selection is based on a predicted flow of interfaces that is associated with the first interface and that is determined based on at least one of information associated with the first interface, interactions of users with the first interface, or interactions of a user associated with the user device.
 13. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the selection is based on personalization data associated with a user associated with the user device.
 14. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the selection is based on content presented in the first interface.
 15. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein: receiving the first request for the data for presenting the first interface comprises receiving the first request for the data for presenting the first interface by the server over the network from the web client operating on the user device through an application program interface (API) operating on the user device; transmitting (i) the data for presenting the first interface, and (ii) for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content comprises transmitting (i) the data for presenting the first interface, and (ii) for each of the one or more second interfaces, the respective data corresponding to the respective one or more items of content from the server over the network through the API to the user device; and receiving the second request for the data for presenting the particular second interface comprises receiving the second request for the data for presenting the particular second interface from among the one or more second interfaces by the server over the network from the web client operating on the user device through the API.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, further comprising: after receiving the second request, receiving, by the server over the network from the web client operating on the user device through the API, data indicative of a transaction pertaining to a particular offer associated with a respective particular item of content included in the particular second interface.
 17. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more items of content are of a same data type, the data type being one of a text string, digital media file type, cascading style sheet (CSS) script, or JavaScript.
 18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the respective one or more items of content included in the particular second interface are not provided for output at the user device until after the selection of the particular user-selectable link.
 19. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein each of the one or more user-selectable links corresponds to a category or to a result that is identified as responsive to a text-based query.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first interface and the one or more second interfaces are programmatic interfaces associated with a third-party program operating in the web client, the programmatic interfaces being different from one or more web interfaces for presenting web pages in the web client.
 21. A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching data associated with a commercial web site, comprising: obtaining data associated with a commercial web site, the data comprising one or more items of content; storing the data associated with the commercial website at a server; receiving, at the server over a network from a client device associated with a consumer, a first request for data corresponding to a first interface; in response to the first request and before receiving a request for data corresponding to a second interface, transmitting, from the server over the network to the client device, (i) the data corresponding to the first interface and (ii) at least a portion of the one or more items of content; receiving, by the server over the network from the client device, a second request for data corresponding to a second interface, wherein the second interface uses the at least a portion of the one or more items of content; and in response to the second request, transmitting, from the server over the network to the client device, the data corresponding to the second interface, wherein the data corresponding to the second interface does not include the at least a portion of the one or more items of content.
 22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein each item of content comprises promotional material associated with a different offer.
 23. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the first interface comprises a user-selectable link to the second interface, and wherein the second request for the data corresponding to the second interface is responsive to a selection of the user-selectable link.
 24. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the client device is configured to render the second interface using the data corresponding to the second interface and the at least a portion of the one or more items of content.
 25. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein transmitting the at least a portion of the one or more items of content comprises: selecting the at least a portion of the one or more items of content from among the data associated with the commercial website; and transmitting the at least a portion of the one or more items of content based on the selection.
 26. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the selection is based on a predicted flow of interfaces that is associated with the first interface and that is determined based on at least one of information associated with the first interface, interactions of users with the first interface, or interactions of the consumer associated with the client device.
 27. The computer-implemented method of claim 25, wherein the selection is based on personalization data associated with the consumer associated with the client device.
 28. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein: receiving the first request comprises receiving the first request for the data corresponding to the first interface at the server over the network through an application program interface (API) operating on the client device associated with the consumer; transmitting (i) the data corresponding to the first interface and (ii) the at least a portion of the one or more items of content comprises transmitting (i) the data corresponding to the first interface and (ii) the at least a portion of the one or more items of content from the server over the network to the client device through the API; receiving the second request comprises receiving the second request for the data corresponding to the second interface at the server over the network through the API from the client device; and transmitting the data corresponding to the second interface comprises transmitting the data corresponding to the second interface from the server over the network to the client device through the API.
 29. A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching items of content associated with a commercial web site, comprising: storing, in an information repository accessible by a server, one or more items of content that are each associated with a respective offer; receiving, by the server over a network from a user device, one or more first requests for: (i) data for presenting a first interface, the first interface including one or more user-selectable links each corresponding to a respective second interface from among one or more second interfaces, wherein the one or more second interfaces are different from the first interface, and wherein each of the one or more second interfaces includes one or more of the items of content, and (ii) data corresponding to the one or more items of content included in the one or more second interfaces; in response to the one or more first requests, transmitting, from the server over the network to the user device: (i) the data for presenting the first interface, and (ii) the data corresponding to the one or more items of content included in the one or more second interfaces; after transmitting (i) the data for presenting the first interface and (ii) the data corresponding to the one or more items of content included in the one or more second interfaces, receiving, by the server over the network from the user device and based on the selection of a particular user-selectable link from among the one or more user-selectable links in the first interface, a second request for data for presenting a particular second interface from among the one or more second interfaces; and in response to the second request, transmitting, from the server over the network to the user device, the data for presenting the particular second interface, wherein the data for presenting the particular second interface does not include data corresponding to one or more particular items of content included in the particular second interface, and wherein the data for presenting the particular second interface enables the user device to render the particular second interface with the one or more particular items of content.
 30. A computer-implemented method for pre-fetching data associated with a commercial web site, comprising: storing, by a server, data associated with a commercial website, the data comprising one or more items of content; receiving, by the server over a network from a client device associated with a consumer, one or more first requests for: (i) data corresponding to a first interface, and (ii) at least a portion of the one or more items of content; in response to the one or more first requests and before receiving a request for data corresponding to a second interface, transmitting, from the server over the network to the client device: (i) the data corresponding to the first interface, and (ii) the at least a portion of the one or more items of content, wherein the client device is configured to store that at least a portion of the one or more items of content in a cache; receiving, by the server over the network from the client device, a second request for data corresponding to a second interface, wherein the second interface uses the at least a portion of the one or more items of content; and in response to the second request, transmitting, from the server over the network to the client device, the data corresponding to the second interface, wherein the data corresponding to the second interface does not include the at least a portion of the one or more items of content. 